Hermione Granger and the Relentless Pursuit
by JackPotr
Summary: Another one shot dealing with after the war. Too much will spoil it.


Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it or make any money from it.

AN: Hey everyone, just another little one shot. I'm having fun with these so you'll probably see a few more. They do wonders for those plot bunnies that don't really have anywhere to go at the moment.

Hot Pursuit

Hermione Granger was unhappy and that did not bode well for anyone around her. She could admit to herself that most of it was her own fault. She could even see where her actions would have been misconstrued by her oldest and dearest friend. What she did not understand was why he never talked to her about it. She always stood by his side and only once in their history had they ever had an argument which lasted more than a day that caused them not to speak to each other.

They were in each other's constant companionship for the last year and had grown even closer than before. At first it took some work but she tried her best to make up for the way she acted in their sixth year. She thought they were past her stupidity but maybe she was delusional and only saw what she wanted to. She leaned back in her chair in the library and shook her head. No, that wasn't it. They _were_ closer but what had caused Harry to just leave without saying anything to her?

Was it Ginny? Had she pushed too hard and too fast? She took out her piece of parchment and wrote that down as a possibility. Were people pressuring him to be their hero and the face of the wizarding world? That had possibilities. Kingsley was seen chasing Harry around Hogwarts almost as often as Ginny. There was also the matter of Molly Weasley trying to smother him between her boobs ever time she saw him. Hermione chuckled at herself. She had never called the girls 'boobs' before. It wasn't proper and Hermione was always proper. That thought hit her hard. The last year, she went off with two boys. Sure only one actually stayed around the whole time but she was alone with a boy for most of the time. If it had been anyone else but Hermione, they would have been calling her a slut but Hermione had her own reputation as the biggest prude in Hogwarts. The only comments any other girl would ever make was that it would never happen.

She then thought of Ron. He was such a git most of the time. He abandoned Harry once again and no matter what he ever did, she could never forgive him for leaving them alone and in danger while he went and hid at his brother's house and got three meals a day and a warm comfortable bed to sleep in. She remembered the last look Harry gave Ron and it was one of disdain and something she had seen rarely in Harry's eyes….hate.

Her thoughts then turned to herself. Had she done something to make Harry upset and drive him off? She was with him through the funerals as he stood there silently. Their normal rapport was no longer existent and it worried her that he wasn't even speaking to her anymore. Her mind then went into research mode. She was trying to search for the exact moment things went so bad. She remembered everything up to the final battle and things were fine then. She zeroed in on the moment that she now knew was when Harry was telling her goodbye before he went to face Voldemort. Their parting was tender and loving. It wasn't as a brother would say good bye to his sister but something much more.

Her mind then drifted to the time when they met up again after the battle. She quickly noticed that things had changed. Did something else happen when he faced Tom? She didn't think so. She knew he died and then came back but when he caught her eye before he went on the attack after being returned to the castle, his eyes still held the warmth and love in them.

Her mind was working better than a film editing machine as she narrowed the change down to the exact moment that things changed. Her mind stopped dead and she knew what it was at that moment. The battle was over and she did the unthinkable. She kissed Ron. Her hand was at her mouth instantly in horror. She had the unmistakable urge to go brush her teeth and then rinse her mouth out with bleach. In her minds eye, she looked at Harry at that exact moment and saw his eyes narrow. It was then that another conversation came to her mind. Well not a conversation but an argument where Ron forced her to make a choice. She chose Harry and the look on his face was enough for her to know that his feelings were much more than friendship with her. It was that moment that she realized things changed for them as Harry thought she chose HIM. Her mind wondered whether that was the case and it didn't take long for her to realize that it was a definite yes.

Her mind then started flowing along the lines of the many tender moments they had shared over the years and knew without a doubt that she was as in love with Harry Potter as he was with her. The one thing that stood out in her mind most was when they went to his parents' graveyard together. It was a very private moment that he would have only shared with someone he felt safe with. That whole trip up until the whole Nagini incident was kind of surreal. They walked disguised as a married couple. Holding hands or arm in arm, it didn't matter, it felt natural.

Hermione rose up from the table and in a rare occurrence, she left everything lying there. Her feet carried her out of the library, down the stairs, and out the front doors. By the time she was on the grounds, her feet were carrying her as fast as they could out the gates. With more practice than should have been necessary for an eighteen year old girl, she never turned on her heel and just disappeared. The next two hours were frantic as Hermione popped all over the country looking in every conceivable location for Harry. The graveyard, Grimmauld Place, his parents' cottage, Privet Drive, and even the Forest of Dean were checked. Her mind then took her to the site where they danced for the first time. In the end, she found herself in the Forbidden Forest at the site where Harry died. With no sign of Harry, she went back to Grimmauld Place and sought out the one being who may know. When she arrived, she called for Kreacher.

When he arrived, he scowled at her and reverted back to calling her the nasty names he once had. She ignored his comments and simply asked "Where is Harry?"

"Why would the nasty mudblood care? Kreacher saw you in the arms of the blood traitor."

"I know but I can't fix things if I can't talk to him. I…I love him and need to talk to him."

"It's too late. Master has left these shores and said he doesn't know when or if he will return."

"Where did he go?"

"Kreacher would not tell you if he could. Master be needing time to get over his hurt."

Hermione thought to herself. "Where would he go?"

She started walking around the house as she thought. Her feet carried her to the room that Harry used when they were staying here. It was Sirius' old room and had been left exactly as it was. On the nightstand was a picture of Sirius as he lay on a beach in the tropics. She had her answer and moved quickly to the library searching for a reference to the mysterious Black Island. After several hours, she hadn't turned up a clue and left the rundown house.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't apparate and just went where her feet led her once again. As she walked and thought of all her options, the first thing she ruled out was the Hogwarts' library. If she couldn't find reference to it in the Black one, there was no way she would find it there. Her feet kept moving until she stopped when she found herself in front of the London Library. She wondered how she got here but went in undaunted. It wasn't long before she was deep in books about geography. A librarian finally came by and saw Hermione pouring through the books.

"May I help you miss?"

"Um…well thank you…yes I could use some help. I heard a reference to an island and I was trying to see if I could locate it."

The librarian smiled. "Maybe we could try a different approach. Come with me."

Hermione followed the lady over to a computer and the lady motioned for her to sit in front of the keyboard. "This is one of our newest acquisitions for the library. It's called Google Earth and if you type the name of the place in, it will show you where the place is. The program uses satellite pictures of the Earth so you can almost see the place."

"Cool"

Hermione typed in the name and hit enter. The effect was immediate and the globe on the computer screen started spinning. The globe made several revolutions before it stopped without ever finding the name. The librarian looked at her and asked "It's a pretty complete map of all the places and even a lot of objects and monuments all over the world. I even looked at my house on it once. Are you sure that is the name of it?"

"No, my friend just always called it Black Island."

"Any particular reason you are looking for it?"

"Yes he went there to get away from everything and I…miss him. I made a mistake and I need to talk to him about it."

"Sounds like you are in love with him."

"I…yes…I am."

The librarian looked at her and with a twinkle in her eye, she said "An older relative always said that love had a power all its own. Maybe if you just sat and thought about it, an idea would come to you."

Hermione looked at her with her mouth hanging open. "Who are you?"

The lady chuckled. "No one important miss. Just someone who tries to help others as best she can. I'll leave you to think then."

Hermione sat there with tears forming in her eyes at the hopelessness of her quest. She finally leaned her head against the screen as she said "Harry, where are you?"

There was a brief flash of light and then she heard the computer making sounds once again. The globe was spinning once again without her having hit any buttons and it finally stopped in the South Pacific. The globe then stated growing as the picture zoomed in on the ocean until a small dot finally appeared. She used her mouse to click on the dot and the only result she got was a box labeled Harry. She wrote down the coordinates and rushed out of the library but not before thanking the librarian for her help. As soon she was outside the doors, she ran forward and disappeared once again.

She reappeared at the gates of Hogwarts where she ran all the way to the tower. Her wand had all her belongings quickly moving to her bag and without saying a word to anyone, she turned and was heading back out of the castle once again. On her way to the entrance hall once again, she was met by Minerva who took one look at her and simply said "Good luck and take good care of him."

"Thanks and I will."

"Miss Granger…Hermione?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Don't take no for an answer?"

"Don't worry I won't. That boy won't escape me ever again."

"Good. See that he doesn't. And please, keep in touch."

With a nod, Hermione was out the door.

**HH**

Thirty hours later, Hermione was stepping off a plane in Sydney, Australia. She learned her lesson well in London and made her way to main branch of the library. Without even missing a step, Hermione was on an available computer and typing Wendell and Monica Wilkins in Australia in the search box. Before she knew it, she had an address in the northern part of the country. She went back out into the city and started looking for the signs of the wizarding community. It took an hour but soon she was standing in the Sydney version of a Diagon Alley. She looked at the signs as she walked and soon found a wizarding travel agency. Ten minutes later, she was standing outside her parents' home on the outskirts of Brisbane. She nervously stepped up to the door and rang the bell.

She waited for a few minutes before she heard the familiar voice of her mother yelling 'coming'. As the door opened, Anna Granger looked upon her daughter and smiled. As she pulled her in a hug, she said "Well hello Hermione. I thought we'd be seeing you soon."

"Mum?"

Anna turned and yelled out "Matt, your daughter has finally turned up."

She heard the familiar voice as it called out "About damn time. Are you gonna invite her in or just stand there all day?"

Anna chuckled and opened the door far enough for Hermione to shoot in the door and jump into her father's arms.

When they finally got her seated, all Hermione could say was: "How? Aren't you mad at me?"

They both laughed. Anna said "Well yeah we were at first. But after things were explained to us, we understood better. You know, you could have just told us to leave for a while instead of doing all that cloak and dagger stuff."

"But…how?"

"Oh, that's easy. That boy you know…Harry….well he stopped by one day and after a wave of his wand, we remembered everything. We were mad at first and he just sat there while we yelled at him. After a while, we calmed a little and then he explained everything. He really is something special. He asked us not to be mad at you and to blame him if we needed to blame someone. He claimed you did it all for him."

Hermione could only sit there dumbfounded. Matt then said "What I want to know is why you chose that _other_ boy when you had someone as special as Harry right beside you. I mean, he did save you from the troll."

Anna chipped in. "Yeah, and didn't he sit with you the whole time you were petrified?"

Matt then said "And what about when he stepped in front of that curse for you?"

"What? Huh? He never did that."

"Of course he did. You don't remember it because you were knocked out at the time. I think he said it was in the Department of Mysteries or something like that. By the way, where is that young man you decided was a better match for you than Harry?"

Hermione finally held up her hands. "Alright Mum and Dad…you made your point and I already know I've been as idiot. Why do you think I'm here right now? Besides seeing you, I'm tracking him down."

Anna grinned "Sounds like you are on another hunt. Do you think you'll be successful on this one?"

"Oh, I'll find him alright. You'd better believe he'll never get away again."

Matt said "Sounds like you have a plan. Just how do you plan on making him never think of that kiss again?"

Hermione huffed. "God knows I've seen you two going after each other enough to know what to do. Why do you think I turned out to be such a prude when I have parents going at it every waking minute?"

Anna laughed. "Just proves that we love each other. I could only hope when you find Harry that you can share the same passion as your father and I."

"You know, no kid wants to think about the fact that her parents are like bunnies most of the time."

Matt laughed. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure Dad."

"Your mother's father said your grandmother was the same way. I hate to tell you this but it runs in the family. You'll be just as sex crazed as your mother."

Hermione's head was in her hands. "This is so embarrassing. This is worse than when you gave me the talk and then tried to demonstrate."

"Oh please…we knew you expected a thorough demonstration."

"Oh yeah…you just scarred me for life."

Anna said "No…what will scar you for life is when you see what that young man is carrying. I took a peek while he was in the shower and I promise you will be very happy with that."

Hermione started hyperventilating. "Calm down dear. Everything will be just fine."

"I…I…"

Matt said "Hermione, I'm surprised you never figured it out. When did we give you that talk?"

She thought for a second before replying "Right after first year when I told you my best friends were two boys….oh…you two are…ughhh."

Matt smirked. "Worked didn't it?"

"You did it on purpose so that I would want anything to do with sex? How could you?"

Anna said "Hermione, you were hundreds of miles away in a school we couldn't get to if we tried and believe me we tried. We did it to make sure there were no accidents."

"Ugh…you mean this whole time I've been thinking these thoughts about Harry and ignored them because I thought it was wrong. OH MY GOD…how do you ever expect me to have a relationship with him now?"

Both started laughing. "What's so damn funny?"

Anna said "Harry…had …the ...same reaction. His uncle's version of making sure there were no more freaks was to do something similar. Said he's loved you for years but was afraid of anything even remotely intimate."

"And you expect us to have a healthy relationship?"

Anna got serious. "Baby, do you love him?"

Hermione quietly said. "Yes Mum…with my whole heart."

"Then go find him and do what comes naturally. I promise you he feels the same way. He left because he couldn't bear seeing you with someone else."

"But he's out there somewhere. How will I find him?"

Anna smiled and pulled out a small velvet covered box and handed it to her. When she opened it, she found a beautiful engagement ring. Matt said "He said it will take you to him whenever you know what you want."

She slipped on the ring and stared at it for a minute. She started to say something but then stopped.

Anna asked "What's wrong baby?"

"I…I just got you back and I was about to rush off again. I don't know what I was thinking."

Anna got up and hugged her. "Baby, Harry said it was a reusable portkey. He said it would take you back and forth between here and his place whenever you want."

Matt smiled "Princess, he knew the moment you put that ring on. I don't think you should keep him waiting or he might have an emotional breakdown. He didn't know if you would ever return his feelings but also knew that no one else would ever hold the place in his heart that you did."

Anna smiled "It sounds like you would be great together. For once, shut your mind off and just let your heart guide you. Or even better yet….your hormones."

Hermione looked at the ring and then up at her parents. She finally smiled and said "Yes Harry James Potter. I will marry you."

She didn't have time to squeal before the portkey grabbed her and pulled her away. When she arrived, she landed right on the top of Harry's bed. As she looked around, she saw her face staring back at her in all the pictures he had of her. She heard it get quiet and realized that a shower just turned off. She lay there for a few minutes before Harry stepped out of the bathroom only wearing a towel.

Her eyes traveled over his body before she climbed off the bed and started removing her clothes. He looked at her for a minute before he asked "Hermione, what are you doing?"

"I traveled half way around the world looking for you so the least you can do is wash my back….for now."

Harry gulped. "Are you sure?"

"Never been so sure about anything in my life. I love you Harry."

"I love you too Hermione. Always have."


End file.
